Accelerator pedal device



Aug. 1945- G. A. raualssdw 2,382,918

ACCELERATOR PEDAL DEVICE 0::iginal Filed Aug. 30, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1IN VENTOR.

1945- G. A. RUBISSDW 2,382,918

ACCELERATOR PEDAL DEVICE Original Filed Aug. 30, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2:ssims p wwfi Ill/l/lI/l IIIII'IIAYII/lII/IIIIIIIIIIIIll/IIIII/ll'II/l/IIIIl/M VII/I/Il/II/I) INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE George A. Rubissow,New York, N.

Original application August 30, 194i), Serial No.

354,891. Divided and this application September 3. 1943. Serial No.501.099

8 Claims. (01. 74-513) This is a divisional application of U. S. Patentapplication Serial #354,891, filed under date of August 30, 1940,relating to an improvement on accelerator pedal device.

This invention provides a new embodiment of this invention which willmore fully appear from the following description when the same is readin connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Itis to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are forpurposes of schematical illustration only and are not intended as adefinition as to the design or the limits of the several aspects of thisinvention.

All figures represent different aspects of this invention in simplifiedand diagrammatlcal form of illustration. In the drawings, wherein likereference characters refer to like parts through out the-several views:

Figure lis a longitudinal side-view of an embodiment of the device andthe accelerator pedal.-

Figure 2 is a plan-view of Figure 1. Figures 3 and 4 are cross-sectionalviews with parts broken out of a guiding-means.

Figure 5 is another longitudinal side-view of an embodiment of thedevice and the accelerator pedal.

Figure 6 is a plan-view of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the guiding-means of Figure 5.

Figure'9 is another longitudinal side-view of an embodiment of thedevice and the accelerator pedal.

Figure 10 is another longitudinal side-view of an embodiment of thedevice and the accelerator pedaL' Figure 11 is a plan-view of Figure 10.

' Figure 12 is a plan-view of another embodiment I of the device.

Figure 19 is another longitudinal side-view of an embodiment of thedevice and the accelerator pedal.

Figure 20 is a plan-view of Figure 19. One embodiment of this inventionis illustrated on Figure l. A support 64, having a curved surface orv'aflat surface on which the sole of the shoe (or, if desired, both soleand heel) rests, or

which may be contacted by the tip of the sole or by the heel, betweenthe heel and the sole, as

shown on the figure, preferably in such a'manner that heel H restsfreely on floor 66 so that the weight of the foot creates a frictionbetween the heel and the floor, which friction, in a majority of cases,is more than suflicient to maintain, free of any muscular exertion,support 64 in any operative position in which it is placed.

Support 64 may be rigidly affixed or may be pivoted at 61A as shown onFigures 1, 2, 10 and 19 or may form one piece with the operative rod 55which is interconnected by means of two or more guiding elements,preferably rollers, to guide-means GI and G2. The guide-means GI may beaffixed to the pedal P by mechanical means such as screws, balls, clips,or by glue or cement, or GI may be one piece with the pedal or the pedalitself may have a suitablesurface which may be consideredas-serving-foror substitutingforthe said guide-means GI. Guidemeans G2is mounted rigidly in respect to the floor and has substantially thesame horizontal contour as GI. Such an arrangement'i one of the mostconvenient. The two guide-means GI. and

at least one roller 10 or a plurality of rollers mounted close to thefree end of support 64 Or as near as possible thereto, whereby when heelH pushes support to and fro, rod operates the throttle by pressing downthe pedal P which I returns automatically to its original position whenthe foot is released by the spring urging the pedal upward. The pedal Pis generally mounted at an upward angle of about 45 degrees.

A still more simplified embodiment is shown on Figures 5, 6, and 7wherein rod II is rigid with support MA on which rollers RI and R2 aremounted, To facilitate the displacement of the A rollers, a strip offriction-diminishing means such as metal, Bakelite, glass, etc., may bemounted on the passageway of the rollers during their displacement. Suchfriction-diminishing means may also be made of a bent metal or stampedout from any plastic 12, Figs. 5, 6 and 7, and be also provided withsmall guide-means in the form of an extending edge 13 to guide rollers10 so that the device D, Figure .7, may not displace itself either tothe right or to the left with respect to its longitudinal axis. Means 12may also be provided for an arrangement of some other kind. It is,however, advisable but not obligatory, that the area in which the heelcontacts the floor be provided with friction-augmenting means such as,

leather, rubber, suitable textile, or even metal if not very smooth.This area may be in the same plane as the aforementionedfriction-diminishing means, or slightly above or below, as shown onFigures 2, l4 and 15.

Rods 65 or H may be mounted not only on one side, as illustrated onFigure 2, but on both sides of the support 64, or the support itself mayform the two rods, as shown on Figures 5, 6 and 7.

Instead of rods 65 or II, each rod, or a pair of rods, may consist of atwo-part rod, 13 and 14, pivotally connected by means of 15. Rod 14 mayalso be pivotally connected by means 16 to the frame 61 of the rollers.Support 64 may be mounted on one or more rollers 10A and 10B, or on apair thereof.

A caterpillar connection 11 may be mounted in one row as shown on Figure11 or in a double row as shown on Figure 12.

Friction-diminishing mean 19 may consist of two small smooth-surfacedstrips 19A and 193 as shown on Figure 12 with friction-augmenting means8| mounted between them to increase the friction between the heel (orthe sole) and the floor. Figures 12 and 13 particularly show one guidemeans I having a long extending guide edge I0| rigidly affixed to thepedal P and another guide means I02 having an extending guide edge I03rigidly affixed to the floor I04. An angle I is formed between the edgesl0! and I02 (on Fig. 13), third guide means are 8I--19A-19B, the pushermember is I 06, the first guide edge having an upper side edge I09 andthe second guide edge having an under side edge H0. A

flexible member III is mounted through a pivot 61A to the support memberon which the rollers I01, I01A and I08 are mounted.

Still another embodiment is illustrated on Figures 1''! to 20 wherein aflexible support in one unit- 82, Figure 18, replaces the support 64 andthe rod or rods 65 of Figures 1 and 6. This flexible support 82 may bemanufactured from a flexible sheet metal or flexible plastic, such asCelluloid, rubber-containing textiles, leather, impregnated withCelluloid materials, etc.

To assist the operation of support 82, Figure 8, a roller 84 or suitableguide-means aflixed to guide-member 84 may be provided, as shown onFigure 15, rigidin respect to the floor. The floor maybe provided with adevice composed of 19A, 19B and 8|, as shown on Figure 12.

For this purpose, these friction-diminishing and friction-augmentingmeans must be so mounted that part B! is slightly below or somewhatabove 19A, 19B and BI as shown on Figure 17, in order to permit thesides of support 84 to slide with greater friction between the heel andpart 8I. This is shown on Figure wherein the friction-diminishing meanshave a downward bent part 84 on the upper side of which part i afiixedfriction-augmenting means 8|. If desired, part 84 may itself have arough surface to provide the friction-augmenting means.

The upper surface 80 of the pusher member I06 (as shown in Fig. 13) maybe provided with a sponge rubber layer or a layer of any type ofcompressible substance.

The embodiment as shown on Figures 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, shows theconnection previously described as rod or support 64 or rods 13 and 14,replaced by a plurality of small links 11, aforementioned, pivotallyinterconnected between themselves, the pivotal displacement of which. ifdesired,-may be limited as illustrated on Figure 16, wherein the link 11can only move limitedly with respect to 11A and 11B, and so on. Insteadof a link, caterpillar chains or bicycle chain may be employed. One partof the "caterpillar chain is pivotally or rigidly affixed to support 61provided with rollers. The other part of the caterpillar chain may beprovided with a support 18 on which the shoe rests and so arranged,preferably, that the heel rests on the floor, as shown on Figures 10 and11, and the sole of the shoe lightly touches support 18. Practically thewhole weight of the foot is thus transmitted through the heel of theshoe to the floor whereby a friction engagement i created sufficient tomaintain the device ,D in its required operative position, withoutpressure. The driver is accordingly caused no exertion and consequentlyexperiences little or no hardship in maintaining the throttle in therequired position. To permit a more ready displacement of thecaterpillar chain 11 shown in exaggerated dimension, on Figure 11, afriction-diminishing band of metal or plastic 19 may .be provided belowthe caterpillar chain 11, or

if deemed more expedient, above it, as depicted in on Figures 12, 13 and14.

If desired, roller 83 may be affixed at the end of B4 and another roller85 provided below support 82 as shown on Figure 18. Also, layer 82 maybe provided with friction-augmenting means 86 on its upper side, androllers 81 and 88 may both be affixed by their own respective supportsto the floor, or to the friction-diminishing and friction-augmentingdevices 10A, 19B, 8| as shown on Figures 19 and 20.

All the parts composing the various embodiments of this device,described herein, may be manufactured from metal, wood, or any varietyof plastic, specifically such plastics as Bakelite, Monsantd plastics,etc.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:

l. A device for actuating an accelerator pedal of a vehicle, comprisinga first guide-means rigidly afiflxed with respect to the floor and hav-'ing at least one runway provided aside of the longitudinal symmetry axisof said pedal, a second guide means being rigidly affixed with respectto the said pedal and having at least one track aside of the said axisof said pedal, said runway-and said track being operativelyinterconnected with each other through the inter mediary of a thirdmeans, said third means operatively interconnecting the said track andsaid runway during its displacement along said accelerator pedal, and apusher-member attached to the said third means through the intermediaryof a flexible interconnection, one end of which is attached to the saidpusher-member and the other end of which is attached pivotally to thesaid third means, whereby when the said pushermember is pushed to andfro, said accelerator pedal is actuated.

2. A device for actuating an accelerator pedal 01' a vehicle, comprisinga flrst guide-means rigidly aflixedgwith respect to the floor and havingat least one runway provided aside the longitudinal symmetry axis ofsaid pedal, 9. second guide means being rigidly aflixed with respect tothe said pedal and having at least one track aside of the said axis ofsaid pedal, said runway and said track being operatively interconnectedwith each other through the intermediary of a third means, said thirdmeans operatively interconnecting the said track and said runway duringits displacement along said accelerator pedal, and a pusher-memberattached to the said third meansthrough the intermediary or a flexibleinterconnection, one end of which is attached to said pusher-member andthe other end of which is attached pivotally to said third means, saidflexible interconnection being a caterpillar chain.

3. A device for actuating an accelerator pedal of a. vehicle, comprisinga first guide-means rigidly aflixed with respect to the floor and havingat least one runway provided aside or the longitudinal symm"etry axis ofsaid pedal, a second guide means being rigidly affixed with respect tothe said pedal and having at least one track aside 01' the said axis ofsaid pedal, said rimway and said track being operatively interconnectedwith each other through the'intermediary of a third means, said thirdmeans being able to operatively interconnect the said track and saidrunway during its displacement along said accelerator pedal, and apusher-member attached to the said third means through the intermediaryof a flexible interconnection, one end of which is attached to the saidpusher-member and the other end of which is attached Divotally to thesaid third means, said flexible interconnection being a thin plate madeof elastic material.-

4. A device for actuating an accelerator pedal of a. vehicle comprisinga first guide-means rigidly aiiixed with respect to the floor and havingat least one runway provided aside of the longitudinal symmetry axis ofsaid pedal, a second guide means being rigidly aflixed with respect tosaid pedal and having at least one track aside of said axis of saidpedal, said runway and said track being operatively interconnected witheach other through the intermediary of a third means, said third meansoperatively interconnecting the said track and said runwayduring itsdisplacement along said accelerator pedal, and a pushermember attachedto said third means through the intermediary of a flexibleinterconnection, one end ofwhich is attached to the said pushermemberand the other end of which is attached pivotallyto said third means,said pusher-member being provided on its free end with a rollercontacting the said floor, whereby when the said pusher-member is pushedto and fro, the said roller rolls to and fro and the said acceleratorpedal is actuated.

5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the said pusher-member isprovided on its top with a layer of rubber-sponge.

, 6. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the said pusher-member isprovided on its top with a layer of compressible substance.

7. A device as set .forth in claim 1 wherein friction-augmenting meansare provided on the displacement area of the heel of the shoe resting onthe said pusher-member.

a. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein

